The clarion., 1887-04-27
Not the Remedy.

lowing:
"A bale OF cotton will be carried from
Vickburg to New Orleans, for fifty cents,
but the rate on cotton from Port Gibson,
many miles nearer, is $3.50 per bale. The
reason Of this is evident. At Nieksburg,
the Mississippi river eompetes with the
railroad, and it can well afford to t4ke
freight from that point at starving rates,
and make up the difference by excessive
charges, where there is no competition
We were ignorant enough to believe that
our State Commission had corrected this
abuse. 1t certainly was a part Of their
duty to DO 20, and il they have failed, We
would like to know what they have done.
A railroad exercises potent influence.
The ring OF the dollar browns the voice Of
the poor sufferer. We are slow to believe
that all men can be bought, but, we regret
to say, that any legislation intended to in
terfere with railroads is useless. They
cajole, hatter, and, if necessary, threaten
those who would oppose them, and, in the
end bear down on all opposition. We
fear that t Commission has done but lit
tie good, and il il has failed until now, it
will never accomplish anything As the
case now stands, railroads can starve
steamboats, out, and make the party, who
cannot avail himself Of river carriage,
iurnish the money 10 enable them to do it.
Being perfectly conversaut with the river,
the methods used there, and their charges,
we do not hesitate to say, that it offers the
cheapest mode Of transportation possible
and that no railroad can honestly and
fairly compete with it."
There is nothing in the law creating
the Railroad Commission, which author
izes il to compel the Mississippi Valley
Railroad Company to carry cotton from
Port Gibson to New Orleans for less
sum than from Vick-burg to New Or
leans. The most that the Commission
can do under any circumstances is to
recommend tariff of reasonable ra.es,
and this tariff, so far as the Commission
is concerned, the Company may disre-
gard 50 long as It does not charge more
for any given distance than the maxi
mum fixed by the Commission.
IL will be seen that the Democrat does
not complain that the rate from Port
Gibson to New Orleans for bale of
cotton is unreasonable. The complaint
seems to be that there is discrimination
in favor Of Vicksburg. But this dis
elimination, it is admitted, the railroad
must make in order to compete with the
river. The supervision law seems to
contemplate that cases will arise where
discrimination will be justifable, when
it forbids that there shall be unjust
discrimination, and whether the dis
elimination complained of by the Dem
ocrat is unjust is judicial question
which can only be decided by the courts
the Commission having nothing to dc
with it.
More than this, the State Commission
can not deal with traffic between States
as held by the Supreme Court, and
therefore cannot fix rate for cotton
between Vicksburg and New Orlean.
or Port Gibson and New Orleans.
Though we doubt if the Democrat in
tended it, the language it uses is an in
sinuation against the integrity of th,
members of the Commission, not war
ranted by anything they have done o.
left undone. 1t may be said in palliatiol
that the Democrat does not consider tn,
Commissioners worse than other men
as the intimation is quite plain that the
Democrat is inclined to the opinion tina
all men may be bought by railroad com
panies. But the Democrat we know
does not believe this any more than i
does that the gentlemen composing tn
Commission can be bought.
We regret that it is not unusal to hea
expressions similar to that used by tn
Democrat in reference to the integrity o
men. They do not indicate just est
mate of the morals of the country, ant
are generally unworthy the source from
which they come. Very recently
United States Senator of high characte
was reported to have said in referenc
to the Interstate Commission, that tn
Commission would own the railroads o
the railroads the Commission. We d.
not believe that the Senator to whom
the expression was attributed, uttere,
it. If he did he uttered it as Joke o
witticism, and had no more faith in it
truth than has the Democrat in the In
situation that men are purchasable com
mOdities.
If the Democrat does not want tn
railroads regulated it is pursuing tn
proper course; but we judge from th
article we have quoted, that it has
river mans prejudice against the rail
roads and wants them forced to do tn
correct thing. If we be correct in ou
surmises we suggest that the Interstat
Commission is the tribunal before whic
complaints of the character referred t
by the Democrat should be preferred
Assaults on the State Commission fo
not doing that which they are prohit
tied from doing, is the line of argumen
peculiar to the friends of MONOPOLY.